Jesus

ARTICLES ABOUT JESUS BY DATE - PAGE 5

The young man approached Jesus and asked, "Good Master, what good things shall I do that I may have eternal life?" That's a good question. It came from a fellow in the Bible who was troubled. It's a question we all may ask once in a while. The young man was told he could easily be assured of eternal life if he would give away his property, money and treasures. This was difficult for this young man for he was very rich. I don't think Jesus was saying we had to be poor to go to heaven.

After Thomas Edison died a friend found a piece of paper on his desk. What was written on that paper should be emblazoned on the minds of every one of us. It read, "If we did all the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves. " One day Jesus went to join his disciples. He found them surrounded by a large group of people. He discovered a man had brought his young son to the disciples hoping to get him healed. The disciples tried but the healing was not taking place.

I got caught a couple weeks ago. No, I was not shoplifting or speeding or anything illegal. I got caught unaware by emotional exhaustion. You know, too many ministry highs and activities without a break. We went from a Holy Spirit weekend, to Palm Sunday services, to Holy Week, to Easter, to a dinner theatre, to final preparations for a mission trip, and finally to Celebrate One, the National Day of Prayer and Unity Service. I tried to sneak in a vacation week, but the only week I had available was already booked with three ministry events and my wife only had one day off from work and babysitting duties.

Being an optimist by nature, it's hard for me to admit, but I really think life is getting harder. It seems everywhere I turn, I find persons dealing with insurmountable challenges. Last week, I spoke with someone struggling to get along with coworkers. At the same time, several persons close to me had relapses in health issues. Some folks are dealing with broken relationships that refuse mending. An addict uses after months of victory. The news shows are no help. If you watch regularly, you will either be appalled by the content, irritated by the triviality, or fearful at the doom and gloom.

An angel saw Jesus ascending into heaven. "Where have you been?" the angel asked. "I've been on earth conducting my ministry," Jesus responded. "For how long?" "Three years," Jesus answered. "How did it go?" "They crucified me. " "But you must have had a wide influence. " "I had eleven parishioners. " "Well then, what will become of your work?" "I left it in the hands of my friends. " "And if they fail?" "I have no other plans," Jesus answered.

I was late. I didn't take the time to brush my hair or put on a decent coat in the chilly air. It was a last minute decision that I really shouldn't have had to think about at all. But, after hearing about it, I didn't give it another thought. It was Good Friday. I started the morning by baking cookies and doing some exercises to keep up with the Daily American Fitness Challenge. It was my first attempt at making white chocolate chip/dried cranberry oatmeal cookies and I was pretty excited.

It was early in the morning when Mary Magdalene and a couple of her friends stole out of their houses. The first faint promise of the day was just tinting the eastern sky. The disciples were still hiding in the Upper Room. There they had last dined with Jesus on the evening of his arrest. The women were afraid to contact them because they feared they might also be arrested. The women went on their mission alone. As they walked quietly in the early dawn, they wondered how they were going to roll the great stone from the entrance to Jesus' tomb.

Please! Somebody convince me that our society isn't losing its marbles! Our ability to think for ourselves seems to be slipping into some alien Wonderland where we don't know which Mad Hatter to follow anymore? You may have read recently about the thousands who gathered this past Saturday in Washington, D.C. for the first Reason Rally! At first glance one would be ready to applaud and shout out- It's about time! However, this pep rally for reason consisted of atheists, free thinkers, and others of similar godless philosophical intellect declaring their mounting significance and clout in society today.

The Geiger Church youth group will present a sunrise service at 7:30 a.m. Sunday. The youth will present the play, "He Lived, He Lives, I Live" written by E. Blake Moore. The play finds some modern day disciples discussing the meaning of the title. They remember the birth, life and death of Jesus through the use of Scripture. They then think of the fact that because Jesus is resurrected and lives, they and all believers live also. Members of the cast are: Heather Berkebile, Hanna Haines, McKinley Lensbouer, Megan Berkebile, Tiffany Woy, Michael Borosky and adviser Priscilla Haines.

In spite of the lateness of the hour and the darkness of the woods in our 27-acre pasture, my dad sent me out on a search for a missing calf. I may have been irresponsible or simply a ten or twelve year old boy who didn't remember to check on the latest new born calf like I was told. I timidly walked down the road into our pasture field with flashlight in hand. The sumac trees overhanging my path that night looked exactly like a cemetery I saw on the latest horror movie. My brother and I frequently watched Chiller Theatre, a sci-fi and monster movie show on Channel 11 out of Pittsburgh.